The syncopated rhythms of Honky-tonk Train Blues echo on Court Street almost every night as Athens' resident piano man tickles the ivories.
Calling Athens home for the last four years, Rick O'Keefe makes his living playing music on the streets. Although he has played the piano for more than 20 years, O'Keefe said he did not feel good enough to truly perform for people.
Just last year it all kicked in and I wasn't pretending to play anymore
he said. While waiting for a piano to come, O'Keefe played the banjo for Ohio University students.
O'Keefe's mentor and inspiration, Meade Lux Lewis, was a piano man, and aspiring to be that good pushed O'Keefe until both hands clicked together and he began to play his music on the streets.
I waited until I mastered 'Honky-tonk Train Blues ' he said. Because that song made me want to be a musician. Those old guys can create more rhythm with just their left hand than 100 Guns and Roses. I like to think I hark back to those original blues players because they also played on the sidewalks.
Street performance has many appeals to O'Keefe because the people are responsive and making money is not a big issue.
Instead of doing something more marketable I focused my life on these old musicians. You've got to be obsessed and I was
he said. I make about as much now as I would working at McDonald's and I have a lot more fun.
O'Keefe fondly remembers snowball fights with students, impromptu street concerts with music majors and numerous requests for Billy Joel's Piano Man.
Sometimes the attitudes from bar-hoppers on Court Street are not always positive, however, O'Keefe still calls Athens the best city in the whole country.
It's so isolated and I'm happy here. I don't think it's going to get yuppified anytime soon because it's too far away from that chic-chic atmosphere
which is great
he said. I'd stay here year-round if I could make the money.
Winter and summer breaks are tough times for him to earn money because most of the college-aged population is gone. O'Keefe takes advantage of that time to travel and play different venues like clubs or streets in Athens; Iowa City, Iowa; Georgia, and his hometown of Chicago.
The winter season starts soon for O'Keefe because his fingers go numb in the cold. This weekend will be his last until January when he returns from a trip to Eastern Europe.
While he is gone, he said he hopes his CD sales go up at Blue Eagle Music, 40 N. Court St. The CD, Boogie Woogie Breeze is under his stage name
Ohio Slim.
O'Keefe does not actively promote it because he is not a shameless self-promoter
said John McGovern, a Blue Eagle Music employee. About 15 copies of the 9-track CD have sold since it went on sale last summer.
He appeals to a lot of people by being a bit eclectic
McGovern said.
The CD was produced by O'Keefe's manager - a 14-year old who knows his way around a computer and keeps all the profits.
But the CD and publicity is not what excites O'Keefe. He plays because he has a passion for music. Students and Athens citizens alike greet him, listen as he plays, applaud and sing along.
He's such a great rag-time piano player
said Bruce Dalzell, host of the Front Room's Open Stage night. He's achieved so much with his talent.
O'Keefe said it is truly all about pleasing the customer. Playing blues and boogie-woogie on the streets gets the most positive responses.
Sometimes when people walk by I can tell they want to (verbally) attack me
he said. So then I kick into something fast and impressive and fancy and they just have to walk away because there's nothing to attack. _
